Playing Around With the Shadow Man
by Fae 206
Summary: Naveen and Tiana are living a happy life with their two children until one night their son is targeted. Naveen agrees to lose his life in order for his son to keep his but instead of dying returns to his frog-prince status. How will his family take the change and why did this happen at all? Flashbacks of their married life also included.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: **This is one of my very favorite Disney movies 😊 (top ten) so I thought I would write for it. Hope you enjoy this first chapter 😊 Also, this chapter is a little choppy. Sorry, I've had some long shifts at work and feel exhausted.

**Playing Around With The Shadow Man**

**Chapter One**

It had been a long eight years since he and Tiana had gotten married as two frogs with many animals surrounding them in awe. It had been such a long time since Naveen had been able to change for the better and Tiana had learned to trust in love and in others and their lives had definitely transformed.

Until one year ago, they had spent most of their time at the restaurant - which was now a celebrated success and had led them to make two more in the US – but had come back to Maldonia when Naveen's father had developed a serious health problem. They had relocated the family here, a family which now consisted of them, their seven year old daughter, Aurelia, and their four year old son, Nathaniel.

It wasn't the ideal life that Tiana had dreamed about and Naveen was attempting to balance things out so that she would be happy, he could follow in the line of his duty, and they would be together. Family was most important to both of them. As Tiana had once said, dreams wouldn't be complete if they weren't with one another.

Naveen sighed as he put down some of the reports on the demographic changes in a new part of the capital. He pushed his hair back and looked sadly over at his guitar. He sighed before leaning back. A little break in the work would be okay, maybe just one song. He wasn't going to just let the fun slip out of his life.

As he stood to pick it up, he heard the doors open quickly and his eyes widened as he saw one of the palace guards holding Nathaniel's weak body in his arms. The little boy was gasping for breath and Naveen was going to question why they had brought him here and not the infirmary until he paused, there was a glowing purple mark on his son's arm, something he had seen at the beginning of that painful journey.

They had destroyed him, hadn't they? Facilier was gone. It had been almost a decade since his death but that was all Naveen could think of as he saw his son's wound.

"Your Highness," the guard said, "we found him like this in the lake. We needed to notify you before…"

"Take him to the infirmary!" Naveen shouted as he pushed his hair back worried that he was responsible for this happening, he had been the one to turn into a frog first and it was him who had gotten Tiana involved. If anything happened to his son then it was his fault. Naveen took slow breaths before looking at the second guard, "let…let his mother know," he said weakly before watching them take his son away. He wanted to be with him but he felt like he needed to be by the lake.

Naveen just had to trust in himself that he was doing this the right way. He needed to track down who had really hurt his child.

…..

…..

Tiana smiled as she sat with Aurelia telling her one of the stories that her mother had told her and Charlotte all those years ago. Due to Tiana's wisdom and work ethic and Naveen's optimism and charisma, the life that they had set out for their children was a promising one and it was because of more than money.

Though money was definitely a factor that was so different from her own childhood, there were many times when Tiana could step back and see Naveen interacting with the two kids and see a reflection of her dad there. He had his definite flaws but he made up for them ten times over and he was a loving father who motivated Tiana to find the happiness in music and arts and dance and let herself lose control to relax.

She had to admit that she had been a stick in the mud at one time but the way that they complimented one another helped for Tiana to appreciate how much she had grown.

"Do you think we'll ever go back home?" Aurelia asked and Tiana paused, turning to look at her daughter.

Tiana sighed before standing up, "I'm not sure when we're going to go back to New Orleans," she told her as she walked over to the window. "Your grandfather is sick and it's important to your father that he's here to learn how to take care of the kingdom and to help your grandmother. I would love to go back to New Orleans but until your grandfather gets…"

"He can stay if he needs to but why do we all have to?" Aurelia asked as she picked up a brush and ran it through her wavy hair. She tried hard to tame the curls in her hair which sometimes felt like she was doing a large gardening project than a simple task. "Can't Dad meet us back in Louisiana?"

"Hon," Tiana sighed as she looked at the two bright stars in the sky and smiled as she thought of Ray and his sacrifice. "If it's important to your father then it's important to me that we all stay together. He has never asked me for much more than for us to be together. I don't want for him to be all by himself. Your father…he has his lonely side too despite how he tries to ignore it."

"He would understand," Aurelia said with a sigh, "Where is Papa anyway?"

"Most likely doing some work and we shouldn't distract him whilst he's working. He gets pretty easily distracted, always has done," Tiana laughed. She watched her daughter thoughtfully. She really did crave to go back to America and Tiana wanted to let her, she missed her old life but being with family mattered more, just like it had done to her daddy.

Tiana went over to sit with her daughter before one of the guards came into the room. Tiana stood, placing a hand on her daughter's shoulder. They looked worried and Tiana froze as they carried one of Nathaniel's toy boats that he always wanted to sail on the water.

"There's been an emergency with your son, Princess" one of the guards said and Tiana looked at him in horror. She turned to Aurelia who was looking in fear as well.

"Take me to where he is," Tiana told them with her chin raised in order to feel some kind of inner strength. She was scared of what might have happened but until they mentioned death she would try to distract her mind from coming up with the worst possible explanations.

…

…

Something about the shadows of the trees was making Naveen remember the bayou. He and Tiana had never told their children about their short-lived amphibian lives. Yet, even though they had tried to run from their past, it had seemed to catch up to them. Naveen took slow breaths before seeing a figure that looked hollow, he approached before realizing that it was a skeleton standing there.

He put a hand on his wrist as he took in the clothing of the man, he should be dead, he most likely was dead. "You thought you would have changed your fashion after all of these years," Naveen spat as he narrowed his eyes, trying to control the anger in him for infecting his child.

"Things never go out of fashion when you're living in madness," Facilier said and Naveen rolled his eyes and looked to the side, laughing bitterly at that. "Your son seemed to be quite curious. Boats, such a dull thing to play with."

"I will make sure you suffer a fate much worse than his if something happens to him," Naveen threatened, the protective nature of his coming out. His anger was rising and he felt justified in it doing so. This wasn't the time to control his emotions.

"Careful," Facilier commented as he held up a pocket watch and opened it to show Nathaniel inside, "His time is nearly up. Now, I would be willing to make a trade with you," he said and Naveen's eyes widened as he paused. "A life for a life," he commented, "I mean, the clock _is _ticking."

"You want my life?" Naveen asked as it began to rain. He looked at the image of his son remembering how it had been his stupidity as a young man which had started all of this. He couldn't afford to have Tiana suffer through the loss of their son and he would never forgive himself were anything to happen to Nathaniel. "You promise me that my family will be all right," he said nervously. Tiana would hate him for this but that was fine if their son was alive.

"Nothing at all will happen to them, your family is quite safe, your children and your wife _if _you give your life for them," he said and Naveen felt the rain start to beat down quicker and harder. He took a nervous breath before holding his hand out. The lightning flashed again followed by a roll of thunder and the two shook hands.

As soon as his hand touched Facilier's, Naveen felt a nauseous feeling drawing him to sleep. Was this death? Was he going to die and endure hell for eternity? He couldn't figure out what was happening to him but he could feel the grass below him and then saw the skeleton turn.

"You know what, I'll let you keep that life of yours 'cause there's little good that you can do with it anyway," he commented and Naveen reached out an arm as he felt a rush around him of a world that he couldn't quite figure out any longer. As he tried to see his hand though, he could see that green foot and leg. He had been turned into a frog again?

He heard another crack of thunder and then saw a shadow on the palace wall. It was a body on the ground. Naveen hopped to the side and turned to see what appeared to be his own murdered corpse. He croaked weakly before hearing footsteps. God, the thing looked so real. As he saw some more guards rush towards the body he watched in the shadows.

Maybe it was the best thing for everyone if they believed that he was dead.

"Please," Naveen wished as he looked up at the two bright shining stars. "Please find someone good to take care of her, someone who loves her and the children as much as I do. That will be my wish for Tiana."

**End of Chapter One**

**Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: **I really wanted to update this quickly but it will be a wait until Chapter Three. I'll also start to include some flashbacks in Chapter Three.

**Chapter Two**

What good came from a corpse? Wouldn't someone who appeared as a skeleton want to take the body as their own, use it to manipulate the laws and governances of the kingdom to their own benefit?

Those were the thoughts that Naveen had as he stared at the brutalized form of himself. It looked so lifelike and realistic, it was as if he were staring at himself having been murdered and he could see the mark of the other side upon his forehead. This would definitely lead to some problems with his family but perhaps this was better.

He waited as the guards found his body, watching from behind a bush as they identified the corpse. Was this a double of himself? Had he actually died and become a ghost…why was his ghost self a frog unless he really hadn't been cured of that curse from just Tiana's kiss. He sighed as he felt the ear go down his throat without him croaking. He had abandoned his family and repeated Tiana's past. Still, as long as their children were okay, he could stand being the bad guy.

He bowed his head before making his way slowly back to the bedroom he shared with his gorgeous and stunning wife, at least he could watch her from a distance even if getting closer to her wasn't an option.

…

…..

A frightened Tiana held onto her son's hand with both of hers. She was praying for some kind of a miracle to restore her little boy before he became too weak. She felt the tears in her eyes and tried to think of the happiness that they had shared as a family. All of a sudden, she could feel Nathaniel's heartbeat returning and the warmth of his body flowing through him. She heard him take a deep inhale as if he had just received CPR and her eyes focused on his body. On his warm ebony skin, the mark had vanished.

He had been released from the curse. Tiana blinked in shock as her son returned to normal.

"Mama," he whispered whilst shaking and Tiana pulled him into a tight embrace, she reached a hand out behind her for Aurelia who joined the hug. "Mama, I'm sorry," he said in a timid manner but Tiana shook her head. She kissed his forehead lovingly wondering what broke the curse.

"It's okay, baby" Tiana told him. "It's okay."

The nurse in the room rushed over to Nathaniel followed by the doctor. Both of them checked Nathaniel's body, looking in wonder at how the young boy who was nearly dead seemed to have no problems at all to do with his health. Tiana brushed his hair back as the doctors finished their tests and kissed his forehead.

"You want to explain to me what happened?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. She saw the small boy's fear and shook her head, "We can talk about that later," she said before seeing one of the servant's at the doorway. "He's going to be okay," she said and the servant paled.

"The prince is dead," he said and Tiana gestured for Aurelia to be at her brother's side. She blinked hard in disbelief and shook her head. How could that be? She froze as she looked to Nathaniel who was now healthy and away from the death that he would have found himself in only a few moments later. Naveen had given his life for the protection of his family.

"A life for a life," she whispered with tears in her eyes. "Is the queen perhaps available?" she asked and the servant nodded slowly. "Then, with all due respect could you please ask her if she could keep the children with her. I would like them to be safe and with family."

"I'll go inform her," the servant said and Tiana nodded in gratitude. She felt her heart start pounding in her chest but she didn't want to believe that the worst had happened. She reached out to Aurelia who was staring at her in horror.

"I'm sure it'll be okay," she told them, "Your father is stronger and more resourceful than he might appear."

…

…

Having seen the corpse, Tiana felt she knew the whole story of what had happened but she was attempting to figure out why this had happened. They had defeated Facilier all those years ago. He couldn't come back to life to take his revenge, that was impossible, besides _she_ was the one who had led him to his doom and he hadn't come after her.

As she sat down on the bed, she looked around and then broke down into heavy tears. She had wanted a good life for her family, she had wanted to live her dreams. She hadn't imagined something like this would have happened. She curled up on the bed, pressing her face into the mattress. Once again, another male figure had left her. Was that part of her curse? She had lost her father and now she had lost her husband and both men had prioritized their children.

She felt herself shake and lose the strength that she had always built up inside her. Her chest felt like it was burning and she had been kicked multiple times. She would never get over this loss. He had been trying so hard for them and his parents and now it was his brother's role as future king.

"You always…I…I wish I could help you…with your tears," Naveen accidentally said from the window ledge. He jumped, hiding himself from her possible view. He didn't want to admit his amphibian status.

"Naveen?" Tiana asked as she sat up and looked around the room. "I don't…you're dead…"

"I only appear dead," he told her, "you should know that bodies can be…" he saw Tiana stand up, making an attempt to locate him from the sound of his voice. He had to hide again, "fabricated."

"How are you doing this?" Tiana asked as she went to the window and tried to look out of it. Naveen stared up at her, hoping she wouldn't see him in the shadows. She peered out of it and Naveen took the opportunity to jump to under a piece of furniture. "I thought you were dead."

"I'm as good as dead," he said and Tiana turned causing Naveen to put his froggy hand over his mouth. The chef stood, walking to the other window and Naveen struggled not to speak to her. He was never good at controlling his impulses, especially when it came to his love for her.

"Are you…a ghost?" she asked as she sat down again on the bed. She bowed her head, feeling the silence surrounding her. She had to hope that somehow he was a ghost, a spirit that had some presence here. If she could hear his voice that would be comfort enough but he wasn't telling her the truth. "Whatever form you're in, please talk to me?" she asked and he continued to cover his mouth.

Tia listened to the silence, every moment of it that she endured was more painful than the previous and she felt herself break down again. She had allowed herself to trust in someone else and fall in love and they had been ripped from her. She tried to control her breathing, her body hurt from him not being there.

"Any form?" he asked and Tiana sat up immediately, wrapping the sheets around her as she heard that. She nodded quickly.

"I don't want to show you my form," he continued and Tia bowed her head. She breathed slowly. Why did he think that she would care so much? What she cared about was him being alive.

"I love you," she whispered to him. "I understand that whatever happened, you did it for our son. You did it to save him. I just…any form would be better than having lost you at least if you're still alive there's hope. I don't think I could live without you."

"Words like that aren't ones that I believe. You are the strongest woman I've ever met. I doubt that me being gone would break you so much," he told her and Tiana threw a pillow on the floor and pushed her back flat against the wall. She didn't love easily but she loved him unconditionally.

Naveen jumped into the shadows on the window again before looking around. He had to trust in her this time and believe that she would be happier to know the truth about the transformation. He could see her with her arms wrapped around her knees and her head pressed down. He could take the chance of a get away but he didn't want to hurt her. He loved her. He just had to believe she would take care of him in this form.

He jumped onto the bed beside her and placed a hand on her knee. Feeling something touching her, Tiana blinked before looking at the frog that she had memorized so well. She tried to breathe steadily but was choking back her tears. She carefully slid a hand under his body and set him on her knee so they could look at one another. "Hey, handsome," she said as she gently let her finger run across his back.

"I am sorry that I cannot be with you any longer," he apologized and she could see that loss of hope in his eyes. She tried hard not to feel hurt by that and gently took him so that he was in her hand. She didn't want him to hop off.

"You better settle down because I'm not going to let you leave without a fight. It's not just your body that's important to me. It's who you are, your words, your character. You think a kiss is enough to restore this?" she asked before gently pressing her lips to his. Nothing happened. This time she didn't even turn into a frog, nothing happened.

"I don't know if there is anything that can break the curse," Naveen admitted and Tiana stood, still holding him safely in her hand. She remembered when she had been this way with him. She remembered how scared and unsafe she felt.

She sighed as she took him to the window, "You should do what you feel is right for you," she said as he looked at her with large eyes. "I want to remind you that I love you and I wish you could stay here but it's your choice. I'm not going to take away your choice of where you want to be," she said and Naveen slowly nodded.

He looked at Tiana, hoping that she actually meant her words and she watched him hop along to the bed and settle down onto the pillow. She smiled as she sobbed happily and went over to join him. She picked up a satin handkerchief as she did so. She sat next to him and tucked the handkerchief around him hoping that he wouldn't feel cold during the night.

"There, that ought to feel a little better," she said nervously as she watched him. "I love you, Naveen," she whispered and he looked at her from where he lay.

"I love you too," he replied and Tiana watched him feeling the pain in her heart but it was the pain for him, that he had to go through this again. "The children, don't tell them about me."

Tia paused, hesitant in agreeing to anything. The only other explanation she could give to them would be that their father had really died. She nodded to him though as she settled down so that her cheek was to the pillow and she could watch him as she tried to sleep. "I won't," she tried to reassure him, worried that when she was to wake up, he'd be gone.

**End of Chapter Two**

**Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated **


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

After her experience, Tia had attempted to leave it behind her. She had wanted to keep the friendships she had made but other than that, she wanted the entire experience to fade over time. It hadn't. She would be looking over meal plans for her restaurant and something would make her think of frog legs, which she never served, or she would feel ill and the cold sweat would make her think of her frog-type body. She had even had nightmares where she had been trapped In that body and Naveen hadn't recognized her.

Still, that meant that she had learned a lot about these amphibians. She knew how their bodies worked, what the best diet was for them, how to keep them as pets. Tia sighed, she would never consider the man who had taught her that hard work actually mixed well with love when you had another person by your side believing in your dream.

She tried to keep her eyes closed a moment more, hoping and crossing her fingers that when she woke up, he would be there and that he wouldn't have left. "Naveen," she whispered as she opened her eyes and gave a half smile that the frog prince was still there despite his reacquired form. She gently placed a finger on his side and saw him roll over, his tiny arms wrapping around it. He was truly in a deep sleep.

"Hi, my love," she said as she gently picked him up and held him to her chest in one hand, the finger on her other hand not leaving his arms. She still loved him despite the form that he was currently in. As she saw his eyes open, he looked at his feet and webbed hands and sighed. He collapsed back dramatically.

"So it wasn't some strange and confusing nightmare," he stated and Tiana shook her head. She pulled him nearer to his heart and Naveen could definitely hear the thumping of his wife's. "Of all the things that could have happened, stuck again in this form."

"You mean the fact that everyone thinks that your dead and your body was left as a corpse," Tia told him and Naveen opened his eyes again to look at her. She was right. He didn't have the abilities he had had when human but he wasn't dead, he could live some type of life with his family and it might even turn out to be a good one.

"Tell me the children do not know about this strange transformation," Naveen sighed and Tiana frowned. She had raised their children to be kind and thoughtful and compassionate young people. The thought of their beloved father dying and no longer being with them was a lot more unkind and hard to deal with than the truth. Tiana had always valued honesty and bravery. This didn't feel like either.

"I think they should but no. They don't," Tiana replied. "You do know that since they don't know what happened to you, they will both think that you are dead. My daddy meant everything to me growing up, he was the person I wanted to share my dreams with, he helped me cook and knew how to help me be proud of my achievements. When he died, learning that he had died, it was too painful for me to imagine but if Mama had come to me and said that Papa was in a stray cat or a bird or even a frog, I would've done anything I could to give my Papa a good life, _especially_ if he could still communicate with me."

"You're wrong," Naveen argued, "the children won't want anything to do with me if they see me like this, if they see me less than I was, less than human."

"You have to let them decide on how they view you but trust me," Tiana winked to him. "It'll be a lot better than you think."

Tiana placed Naveen down on a side table before standing up. She walked over to where the adjoining bathroom was to their room so she didn't need to get out into the hallway. She yawned and gave him one last look, "I love you," she said and he stared at her, taking a huge gulp of air. Did he really have the bravery that it took to tell his children the truth without their reactions completely crushing him.

….

….

"I don't feel well," Nathaniel told his sister as he came into her room. Neither of them had been able to get much sleep. Nathaniel still felt the pain from his experience and had had many people tell him that he could have easily died. He didn't remember much of what happened but he felt better now. It was as if he had a cold but it didn't hurt in the same way.

Aurelia reached out to hold her brother close to her. She could feel how his body was trembling and she took her blanket, wrapping it around both of them. "Me too," she said and Nathaniel looked to her in a frightened manner. "I'm scared too," she tried to reassure her younger brother. "But Pap always tries to be positive and Mama said that throwing yourself into a project is good to keep your mind busy."

"I wish Papa would tell us a story," Nathaniel sobbed. It always made him feel better when he told Naveen he wasn't feeling well because his father would pull out his guitar, spend a few moments away from his piles of work, and would tell him a story or sing a song to make it better. The words which they had both recently overheard about their father couldn't be true.

"The sun's coming up," Aurelia said before standing up from the bed and grabbed her brother's hand. "Let's go see them," she told him and Nathaniel nodded.

Despite being told that it was polite to knock and announce yourself, Aurelia didn't bother to do that as she went into her parents' room. It was organized apart from a couple of handkerchiefs. Of course their mother had been crying. She always cried when Papa wasn't there and she felt lonely. Papa didn't know that though.

"What's that?" Nathaniel pointed at Naveen and the two children crossed to the table that Naveen was on as he stared at them with wide eyes. His kids didn't know that he was a frog. They wouldn't be seeing him, they'd be seeing some type of "gross animal." He wondered whether he should explain as Tiana had said or hop away.

"It's a little frog," Aurelia said before poking Naveen who didn't know how to respond to that. She pulled her finger away, "It's all slimy."

_Actually,_ Naveen thought to himself as he watched the two of them. _It's not slime, it's mucous. _He looked down, thinking about hopping away. Maybe escape was a better plan. It certainly _felt_ like a better plan right now. As he was about to hop away, he felt Nathaniel's hands grab him and his eyes widened. Should he speak? His son was clutching him rather tightly.

"Let's feed it to kitty," the little boy said and Aurelia smiled.

"Yeah, kitty likes to eat frogs," she told her brother before seeing her mother there with a couple of towel's wrapped around her. She was squeezing out the water from her hair when she grabbed a robe and came over to the two of them.

"You will not do any such thing," she told them. She sat on the bed and reached a hand out in Nathaniel's direction. He pouted but handed her Naveen and Tiana checked over his body for any bruising or injuries he might have before setting him on her lap. "This is my frog. Our frog," she said as she gently stroked the top of Naveen's head. "We're to take care of him, not grab him, and definitely not feed him to other animals. I just wish I…"

"It's all right," Naveen said feeling defeated. Tiana let her fingers stroke his back again.

"Mr. Frog just spoke," Nathaniel gasped and Tia nodded again. She gently picked Naveen up and set him on her shoulder and away from where he could be grabbed.

"You two know about the magic that exists in this world, the magic that hurt you, yesterday," she said as she turned to Nathaniel. The two of them nodded. "Well, your father went to try to get the medicine to make you feel better but he had to offer them something so that they could trade."

"Trade?" Aurelia asked before blinking back tears, "Is it true? Is Papa…gone?"

"Papa's gone?" Nathaniel sniffled and Naveen could see how upset they were. He moved closer to Tiana's neck as he looked at his family. He really didn't want to make them feel this way.

"No," Naveen replied and both of the children looked at him as he spoke. He sighed. "The man who hurt you, Nathaniel, has turned me into a frog. We weren't going to say anything but…your mother convinced me. Please know that even though I am a frog, I still love you two very very much."

"So," Tiana finished for him, "Papa can't protect us the way that he used to, he's much more powerless than when he was human so we've got to protect _him_ and that means that we have to keep him from being fed to cats or suffocated by grabbing him too hard."

Aurelia held out her cupped hands towards Tiana and Naveen nervously jumped into them. Aurelia lifted her hands so she could kiss the frog's head. She very gently brought him to her chest. "I love you too, Papa," she sniffed and Tiana felt a wash of relief flow over her that she was right about this. "I always love you."

"Me too, me too," Nathaniel said quickly and Naveen felt a warmth in the room. He just hoped that his family would continue to protect him, continue to love and accept him.

"We need to keep this private to protect Papa," Tiana told them and both children nodded sensing how serious the situation was. Nothing was powerful enough to pull their Papa away from them.

**End of Chapter Three**

**Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated**

Thank you to the reviewer of Chapter Two

ThickBlackGirl


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Prince Ralphie of Maldonia looked ahead of him as he heard the news. His brother had been discovered dead. He took a deep breath and looked down, feeling his world crumbling before him. His brother was gone. With his niece and nephew at such young ages, he was to provide leadership for the country until they were of age. He didn't want to do that. He knew that it was his duty. Tiana wasn't of royal birth, if she had been a princess of another country then she might be seen as a candidate for the throne but she wasn't, she had been a humble waitress who his brother had married out of love. That was the relationship he had always wanted. Now, he would have to carry on the family legacy.

What he had loved about his brother growing up was his heart. Naveen was fun-loving but he was also loving. Although he might have been a frivolous playboy at one point in his life, Ralphie had always felt such love from him. He had been proud to be the brother of someone so kind.

He supposed that as much grief as he felt, he had to keep going for the sake of his country, his home.

He would have to travel back to Maldonia as the first task on hit itinerary. He would have to consult others at how the kingdom was, what needed to be done, his options of what to prioritize first and then step into his brother's shoes. He had trusted his brother to do the right thing but with him gone, he would have to figure things out for himself.

"Your Highness," a servant spoke to him and Ralphie looked back in that direction. He froze as he saw the one man he wasn't expecting at all. Well, those guards at the palace had been idiots because this was his brother. His brother wasn't dead. That wasn't to be said about the servant though who appeared as if she had been hypnotized. No. There were other things which he needed to think about.

"Nice room you have here," Naveen told him and Ralphie nodded his head.

"Not much has changed since the last time you visited me," he said before going over to his older brother. "I thought that you were dead." He commented but as he drew nearer his brother, Naveen held his hand out and stopped him. Ralphie felt a painful pressure against his chest as he was stopped, his body couldn't move forwards.

"Don't think that I'm that idiot, Naveen," the man said and Ralphie stared at him. What was going on? Had his brother gone mad? Ralphie watched him, taking a step backwards. "You should be king, you understand that, don't you?"

"In the place of my brother were something to ever happen to him and there was no one at the right age to ascend to the throne, yes, it would be my duty," Ralphie replied. He tilted his head slightly as he examined this man in front of him. As he moved backwards though, the man who looked like his brother slowly became somebody else and Ralphie stared at him. He hadn't seen this happen before and it gave him cold chills as he realized that this was the one who his brother had warned him of, the shadow man. "I know you," Ralphie told him and heard the man laugh.

"There are very few who _don't_ know me," the other man smiled. Ralphie took another step back, this man didn't look like the person Naveen had described to him. Whenever he would ask Naveen about that story, Naveen would tell him about Dr. Facilier, a man who had worked with the shadow man but this man seemed to have an endless amount of bodies which he could use including his own brother's.

"Why do you come to me at all?" Ralphie asked feeling as if he were kicked numerous times in the gut. He was much younger than his brother, in fact at the time when his older brother had fallen in love and married the woman who he had stayed happily married to all this time, he wasn't even seven. Still, he had always had so much love for his family, admiring his big brother as his hero and role model and he knew that Naveen took pride in knowing that.

"You might be easier to manipulate than your brother," the man told him honestly. "After all, wouldn't you wish to save his soul from the afterlife where he is bound in limbo. I could send him straight down to hell if you wanted me to."

"I won't harm people," Ralphie argued but then found the man to step forwards to him and as much as he tried to resist, Ralphie found himself in a strange and silent world where he could see his brother get pulled down into a blazing inferno. His bones were crushed and his skin became black as it started to burn. Ralphie wasn't sure whether this was a vision or whether it was really happening. All he truly knew was that he didn't want for his brother to ever have to endure all of that pain.

As he found himself in his room again, Ralphie clung to himself feeling the cold sweat. He wanted to save his brother. He didn't want that to happen, he wanted to protect him and not see him tortured in that manner but what could he do? He was just one man who had been the younger prince of two.

"If you allow me to rule with you, I will allow his death to be significantly less painful," the man said before reaching out for the prince's chin and tilting it up to gain eye contact with him. "What do you say? Will you go to such needed lengths to save your brother?"

Ralphie nodded nervously, "As long as it doesn't harm others," he said. "I will give you more power when I become king but I don't want to cause anyone any pain or suffering," he said. With cautious movements, he reached out to the shadow man's offered hand and shook it to seal their pact. He felt a strong rush of pain through his body and closed his eyes in order to endure it but when he opened his eyes, the other man had vanished.

PATFPATF

Their children knew, that was the important thing, their children knew and had accepted Naveen in this form. Tiana was glad for that. She had felt a true sense of fear when they had been talking of giving him to the cat who loved to at least chase frogs. Naveen had learned a lot about fighting tactics, using guns as well as older weapons like swords, all in his quest to become a great ruler. Still, frogs couldn't use guns and even if they could, the bullets would never be able to harm anyone.

Tiana sighed and put a hand on her forehead, shaking her head. What would her mother have said to such an idea? Frogs using weapons. No. She would have to be the strong one here. Although she didn't have experience, she had a want to learn, a determination, an amazing work ethic, and she was intelligent as well. She could handle protecting those who mattered most to her.

She took a look back at the box and noticed that Naveen was still under the piece of blanket she had cut off for him. She walked over to him and lifted the fabric, seeing how he was still able to sleep in this form. Most frogs would sleep curled in on themselves like a rock. Seeing Naveen all stretched out with his feet at different angles proved his differences. She very gently, placed her hand under his body and moved him over to her chest, wrapping the blanket around him lovingly.

When she was a child, she had found frogs disgusting and just the very idea of kissing one filled her with unease. She had thought they were slimy and disgusting. She never thought that she would be cradling one close to her breast and especially hadn't believed that her own husband would turn into such a creature.

She walked over to the window where night had started to fall again. "The stars are bright tonight," she said to the sleeping frog in her hand. "I think that Ray must be looking down upon us with Evangeline. I hope that Ray understands how much love we still have for each other, how much we still care about him."

Tiana blinked as she imagined the star burning brighter and then fading and then burning brighter. She had to believe that that was Ray promising to do all he could to still protect them. He had been small but feisty. Hopefully he hadn't been bothered by them returning to human form. She could understand why most animals hated humans.

She saw Naveen's chest swell a little before he coughed and started to wake up. Tiana watched as he stretched his legs out and yawned. Was this like those small moments in time during a morning where you wake up and think everything will be okay before you realize that it's not and that the nightmare you hoped to wake up from was actually very real.

She saw him blink before his expression fell as he looked to his foot. "No luck," he said before looking up and quickly sat up so that he was facing Tiana. "Tiana, I feel I need to apologize to you," he said feeling the slight burn in his chest. "I don't know how I can return to human form."

"You just keep wondering how to live as a frog then and I hope that I can help you with those worries," she said before lifting him to her chin and kissing the top of his head. She heard him croak in response and froze. Was he becoming more like a frog or was that just her imagination? "I love you. Frog or not. I love you."

"Maybe you should leave me here and head back to New Orleans," Naveen said sadly, bowing his head and Tiana noticed the sadness in him but she just held him closer to her chest. She craved contact with him but a human woman could easily crush a frog even a strong looking frog like Naveen.

"Never. I'm not leaving without you," Tiana told him. Naveen smiled weakly. This moment between them, however, was stopped by a knocking on the door. Tiana turned towards her amphibious husband and gently placed him back in the box she had fixed up for him. She nervously went to the door and opened it. Naveen couldn't help but try peering out the box as if there were danger nearby.

Instead, they were both very taken aback when they saw Naveen's brother standing there.

"I need to talk with you, Tiana. I need your help in making sure to save my brother," he told her and Naveen stared at him. He had told Ralphie a story about the shadowman but not that he had been transformed into a frog. What was the best way of handling this? Would the best thing to do to make sure his brother knew about his change?

**End of Chapter Four**

**Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated**

**In the future, the number of reviews on the latest chapter will show me how many people want for me to update and be one of three deciding factors for what I'll update next (others are view count on latest chapter and my favorite/inspiring fics).**

Thank you to **ThickBlackGirl** for reviewing Chapter Three 


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